[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl":3,"chapter-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-60":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Off the Clock, Then a Magical Girl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2349980,4594,"Chapter 60: A Promise Fulfilled","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-60",60,"\u003Cp>Although the remnant beast that attacked the shopping center was massive in size, it was not particularly strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Cui Que’s observations, in terms of type, this remnant beast was a relatively common skin-splitting variety, and she had taught many techniques for dealing with such creatures; as for its individual capability, it was merely formidable among those at the egg-level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a remnant beast, while more than enough to destroy a shopping center, was still somewhat delusional to think it could handle the joint crusade of two magical girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s more, neither Xia Liang nor Lin Xiaolu were the rookies they had been two months ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention Xia Liang, who had been infinitely close to the bud-level in recent days, Lin Xiaolu had also made rapid progress through diligent study and practice. Added to the fact that their coordination had begun to take shape—at the very least, they would no longer hinder each other—this battle had no suspense from the very beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xia Liang fired a beam of magic from the tip of her wand, the pierced remnant beast collapsed heavily to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Que hid in the shadows alone, quietly watching the entire battle, a sense of gratification showing on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was happy for the growth of the two newcomers, and also relieved that the relationship between them was gradually smoothing out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming that the remnant beast had been defeated and the echo had been collected, she slipped away in secret once more, returning to where she had parked her car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason she could not show her face during this trip was that she had already asked Hong Siyu to tell the two newcomers that she had matters to attend to and could not come. If she were to suddenly appear and meet Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang at a time like this, the misunderstandings that had not been fully resolved earlier would be even harder to clarify, which was something she did not want to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, after taking the nearest route back to the parking lot, she immediately slipped into the car and changed back into the appearance of Lin Yun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driving out of the garage, he parked the car on the side of the road, first contacting Hong Siyu to have the Extraordinary Strategy Bureau send people to handle the aftermath at the scene; afterwards, he used Lin Yun’s phone to open the map and shared his location with Lin Xiaolu. After finishing all this, he stood by the car and waited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About ten minutes later, he saw the two girls walk out of the shopping plaza unscathed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tugged at the corner of his mouth and waved to greet them; Lin Xiaolu nodded somewhat uncomfortably, while Xia Liang returned a sweet smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well done, I am proud of you both.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a simple word of encouragement and praise, he continued: \"The Extraordinary Strategy Bureau will arrive soon. Get in the car, I’ll take you back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was something that had been agreed upon beforehand, so the two girls sat in the car accordingly. The three of them did not linger any longer and slowly drove away from the shopping center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car had driven for a distance, but during this time, no one spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu remained silent, and Xia Liang just sat there with a smile, watching the strange atmosphere between the two without intervening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\"So, when exactly did you find out? About me becoming a magical girl.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, Lin Xiaolu, sitting in the back row, could not suppress her curiosity and was the first to ask: \"The day that woman named Hong Siyu came? Or even earlier?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The day you were on TV.\" Lin Yun looked straight ahead and spoke the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh? I was on TV... wasn't that discovered only a few days later?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaolu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: \"Wait a minute, is that why you were suddenly saying those inexplicable things that night?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You thought I was drunk and rambling?\" Lin Yun raised an eyebrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wasn't you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"……That night while eating, Hong Siyu came directly to me and informed me that you had become a magical girl.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not dwelling on this topic, Lin Yun glanced at the rearview mirror and explained calmly: \"However, that was only part of the reason. What I said that day about 'wanting to see you' was also the truth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To see if your daughter who became a magical girl had turned into an alien?\" Lin Xiaolu retorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To see if my daughter who became a magical girl was still as cute as ever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun made a dry joke: \"Besides, even if you did become an alien, you would still be my daughter. That point will never change.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaning back, Lin Xiaolu rested straight against the back of the seat and gave a light huff: \"I'll just pretend you're telling the truth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She chose to let it go, and the issue ended there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car moved forward for another distance in their mutual silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However, Lulu, I was actually very angry that night.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, Lin Yun spoke up suddenly: \"When I saw you become a magical girl, I really felt worried, I could even say I felt a bit sad.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\" Staring at the driver's seat in front of her, as if she could see this man with his back to her, Lin Xiaolu frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I was very worried that I would lose you because of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun looked at the windshield, recalling the emotions of that day, his tone inadvertently carrying a touch of sorrow: \"I actually wanted to tell you that night that being a magical girl is a very dangerous identity, it's just that at the time... I couldn't bring myself to say it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thought I wouldn't listen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably.\" Lin Yun did not deny it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"……Forget it, it's all in the past anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, sorry, perhaps I should have trusted you a bit more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he said this, Lin Yun could not help but show a bitter smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the price of not being able to tell the truth at that time far exceeded his imagination. Since then, in order to protect his daughter and communicate with her, he had gone to great lengths to disguise his identity and told countless lies, to the point where he now had no idea how to reveal the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It doesn't really matter, does it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not knowing what Lin Yun was thinking when he said this, Lin Xiaolu blinked, smoothed her brow, and said somewhat inexplicably: \"Aren't you being too pessimistic? I remember that the number of magical girls who actually sacrifice themselves isn't that high; most of them retire normally.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of this, she became a bit proud: \"And it's not just me saying it, I'm actually very safe right now, after all, I have a very powerful senior protecting me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her demeanor left Lin Yun unable to laugh or cry, and he did not know whether he should continue the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But some things had to be said eventually, so he adjusted his emotions and asked lightly: \"……Is her name Cui Que?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question caused Lin Xiaolu in the back seat to freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As expected, you actually knew?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She muttered to herself, and after being stunned for a few seconds, she immediately straightened up. Without any hesitation, she grabbed the back of the front seat, leaned her face close to Lin Yun’s ear, and her tone suddenly became eager, even somewhat agitated: \"You know her? What is your relationship? Is she here in Fang Ting City because of you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun did not give a direct answer to these questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not really want to use his identity as a father to talk more about \"Cui Que\" with his daughter, because if he wanted to hide his identity, every word he said could constitute a lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that right now, explaining the origin of Cui Que to his daughter—at least part of that origin—had become imperative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, he knew that the promise he had once made to his daughter was now time to be fulfilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lulu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking straight ahead, Lin Yun brought up the agreement from a month ago: \"Do you remember what I told you before, that I would tell you some of the truth?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, you said that in the car that morning, right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing him bring this up, Lin Xiaolu also calmed down slightly and let go of the seat she was gripping: \"Does it have anything to do with what you're about to say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It does, or rather, this is the answer you wanted to know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Releasing one hand from the steering wheel, Lin Yun picked up his phone with one hand, and after swiping a few times, he found the message interface with Lin Xiaolu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thumb paused over the screen for a moment, and then, he finally pressed send on the message he had long since edited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, a picture was transmitted to Lin Xiaolu's phone via the message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He put the phone down again and said with a sense of relief: \"Take a look. If you look closely at this photo, many of your questions should be answered.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the best explanation he could give.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaolu picked up the phone full of doubts, and Xia Liang also poked her head over with interest. But when they opened the photo and truly saw the content, they both widened their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the content of the photo far exceeded their understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was four gorgeously dressed girls, of varying heights and beautiful appearances, but one could tell they were all in the bloom of youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The background in the photo also looked quite exaggerated; at a glance, one could tell it was under the setting sun, atop a massive object that seemed to be the carcass of a remnant beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this alone, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang could guess: they were all magical girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The expressions and postures of the four girls were vastly different. Standing on the far left was an elegant purple-haired girl in a white silk dress, draped in a deep purple robe, wearing a round hat; she was looking straight at the camera with a quiet and intellectual smile. The orange-haired girl on the far right was dressed in a gorgeous golden dance dress, her chin held high, her face overflowing with a proud and complacent smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaolu did not recognize these two magical girls, so when she saw them, her gaze only paused slightly before passing over them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when her attention shifted to the middle of the photo, the combination of the tall and the short, the pink and the navy blue standing in the center, made her eyes widen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was all too familiar with that navy blue figure, because that person in the photo was no different from today; but that pink figure, although so unfamiliar, the vaguely recognizable features still made her realize the identity of the person in the photo:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is... Cui Que and... Mom?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1858,"2026-06-21T02:45:47.620Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","d3ddf1dfa0fb32bf7a87a7e0dc9c4c7a563f5c6aed29f234968e46213380ec6c","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-61","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-59",364,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foff-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-cover.jpg"]